Madonna's anthemic new single "I Rise" samples Emma González's pro-gun control speech
On Saturday, Madonna will receive the Advocate for Change Award at the GLAAD Media Awards. Ahead of the ceremony, the pop legend has shared a new single from her upcoming Madame X—called “I Rise,” it couples lyrics that directly reference gun violence with samples from Emma González, a Stone Douglas High School shooting survivor, who gave a powerful, moving pro-gun control speech last year. “[They say] us kids don’t know what we’re talking about,” González says at the song’s outset, “that we’re too young to understand how the government works. We call BS.”
“I wrote ‘I Rise’ as a way of giving a voice to all marginalized people who feel they don’t have the opportunity to speak their mind,” Madonna said in a statement. “This year is the 50th anniversary of Pride and I hope this song encourages all individuals to be who they are, to speak their minds and to love themselves.”
The single follows Madame X’s first single, the Maluma-featuring “Medellín.” Hear “I Rise” below.
Madame X, which features collaborations with Diplo, Migo’s Quavo, and Rae Sremmurd’s Swae Lee, is due out June 14 via Interscope Records.